The Mech Touch

"…Wuuuu…baababawbuuwu…"

Despite her young age, Aurelia grew remarkably quickly. Though she was still a baby, she was not as tiny as before. She also became a bit more coherent and actually behaved as if she was more aware during her waking hours.

Though it was still a bit stressful to feed her during the night, it was not a big deal now that neither Ves nor Gloriana were occupied with any important work at the moment.

"Oogobababaoooo…"

She also made cute sounds during playtime! Though she couldn't really crawl around by herself yet, it was fun to see her try and grab onto Clixie's soft and furry tail.

"Miaow~"

The Rubarthan Sentinel Cat had regained her relevance during this time. Now that Aurelia's immune system had ramped up with the help of artificial treatments, Gloriana was fine with allowing Clixie to keep her baby company.

It was a great solution when both Ves and Gloriana couldn't keep a close eye on their baby. They trusted Clixie and she was already a close part of the family.

Of course, Lucky didn't want to be left out either. The gem cat hovered above Aurelia's head and dangled his metallic tail within the baby's reach.

"Wuuuaaaaa! WUAAAAAA! WHAAAAAA!"

"Meow?!"

"Lucky! Stop scaring my little girl! Get away, you bad boy!"

Gloriana returned to her daughter's side and picked up the crying baby.

"There, there, Aurelia. The scary cat isn't around anymore. Mommy will protect you from all of the bad boys that want you all for themselves once you grow up. Only the best boys are worth your time!"

"Meooowww…"

Lucky looked aggrieved as he flew back to Ves and landed on his shoulder.

"You dummy." Ves reached out and scratched his gem cat between the ears. "You're not as soft and fluffy as Clixie so you need to put more effort into charming Aurelia. Don't approach her so quickly next time. It also helps if you wear some clothes or colorful accessories. You need to look cuter!"

"Meow!"

Aurelia soon lost her fright and got back to giggling when her mother brought out a flashy toy that floated above her eyes. The bond between mother and daughter deepened even further as they continued to play and entertain each other. It was a heartwarming sight.

After twenty minutes, their daughter finally expended all of the energy that kept her awake. As she slowly dozed off, Gloriana kept ahold of her baby as she gently sat next to Ves on the couch.

"I'm so happy." She softly whispered as she kissed the top of Aurelia's head.

"Me too." Ves smiled as he reached out to caress his sleeping child. "This is probably the happiest time of my life so far. Not only did we gain a new daughter, but we've also completed many of our other goals. We've completed our expert mech design projects, made two more masterwork expert mechs in quick succession and we're almost about to begin our true expedition."

Although there were dangers abound and a lot of challenges ahead of him and his clan, Ves felt more alive than at any other point in his life. Much of it came from the sense of fulfillment that had settled into his heart. He had finally reached a point in his life where he could pause and bask in his own success without hateful Fridaymen or murderous dwarves breathing down his neck.

Despite all of the risks he took to get to this point, he was glad he managed to end up at this juncture. Both his professional and personal lives were heading in the right direction, and he could hardly ask for more.

The only changes that could make him happier was if he got his hands on more capital ships or was able to bring more of his family along this trip.

His thoughts continued to wander back to how his parents and the old Larkinson Family were doing. He hated the thought of leaving them behind, but he couldn't do everything.

Cynthia and Ryncol Larkinson had been attracting a lot of mysterious traffic towards the Nyxian Gap. They wouldn't be able to survive outside of this hazardous region. If the Five Scrolls Compact didn't hunt them down first, then the Big Two would have definitely been able to corner them sooner or later with the help of their advanced technology.

As for the old family led by Patriarch Ark Larkinson, those stubborn traditionalists still insisted on achieving success while adhering to their own principles and ideals. They may have become more open to receiving assistance from the Larkinson Clan as of late, but that mostly extended to allowing them to pilot a selection of Larkinson-exclusive mechs.

Aside from that, the old family funded most of its expensive operations by relying on the dividends of their 1 percent ownership in the Living Mech Corporation.

It was rather sad that the Larkinson Family still hadn't been able to stand on its own two feet after so many years. Their departure from the Bright Republic left the traditional Larkinsons completely unprepared to find a new calling and a way to pay the bills through their own efforts.

Ves snorted a bit. The original family members had made their own choice. To him, the old family mainly existed to present a powerful contrast to his own clan.

The differences in values, principles, policies and decision-making had resulted in two completely different organizations. The differences in power, prosperity and success was more than enough proof to show which group of Larkinsons were in the right!

He no longer paid any mind to the old family. Although he did not wish his distant family members any ill, their decision to keep their distance from the clan made it hard for him to hold much affection to other Larkinsons.

Only a couple of individuals such as Ark, Melinda and Benjamin still earned his affection. Sadly, it was harder and harder for him to remember them as the physical distance between the clan and the old family continued to increase.

They no longer even talked with each other all that much over the galactic net. Although Ves had happily introduced Aurelia to the three during a rare call, that was the only time in the entire year when he seriously talked to the old family in a friendly capacity.

Ves realized that it would only grow worse once the clan entered the Red Ocean. Although the existence of the galactic net still allowed them to hold real-time talks, the sheer amount of light-years between the two groups of Larkinsons would only further increase their estrangement from each other.

"What are you thinking about, Ves?" Gloriana curiously asked.

"Oh, nothing important. I'm just thinking about the family I'm leaving behind."

"You're not the only one. It's a pity that I can't bring along my mother and the rest of the Wodin Dynasty."

"The Hexadric Hegemony is on the losing end of the Komodo War, right? What will the Wodin Dynasty do?" He asked.

"I'm not too sure." She replied as she continued to hug her sleeping baby. "My relatives will be fine. They should have already prepared for contingencies together with other Hexers. Matriarch Xiaphna is a strong loyalist and has good relations with the Evern Matriarchal Dynasty. I can see them all working together on a backup plan."

"I recall that we still owe the Hexers three mech designs. Should we work on them in the next round of mech designs?"

Although Ves did not like the original deal he made with the Hexadric Hegemony, it wasn't in his nature to break his promises, especially when they related to his profession. Credibility was important to a mech designer. If the expert mech design projects didn't take so long to complete, he would have been able to address this matter sooner.

Gloriana shook her head. "If the demand was more urgent, I would have brought it to your attention. For now, the Blessed Squire and the Valkyrie product line are sufficient as both of them are able to spread the Superior Mother's glow on land, in the air and in space. They are still relevant and don't need any help. The Cherub, the Bright Boy and the Devious are also helping out, but there is only so much auxiliary mechs can accomplish."

"It's too bad the MTA doesn't want us to spread our most up-to-date luminar crystal tech to the public." Ves sighed. "If I can update the Bright Boy design, I can turn it into a much stronger impediment against expert mechs. Hell, just giving the Hex Army a license to produce my crystal luminar rifles will definitely stop the Friday Coalition's momentum."

It couldn't be done. This move went against the MTA's policies and direction. The mechers didn't want anyone to spread around alien technology and they loathed any tech that made it much more efficient to kill expert pilots. Ves simply couldn't defy such a powerful organization over this issue, and his wife knew that as well.

She sighed. "It's okay. For now, the Hex Army has adopted a full defensive posture. The earlier stages of the Komodo War have already inflicted a lot of attrition on the Fridayman mech troops. They can't easily overrun every defensive star system that is defended by a stubborn core of Hexer soldiers."

"That doesn't sound like a good way to win a war."

"It isn't, but at least the Hex Army is buying time for the rest of the Hegemony to prepare for solutions. More Hexers are able to evacuate in advance, and new solutions are being developed as well. It's just…"

"What is it, honey?"

"This war would have proceeded a lot differently if the Red Ocean hadn't opened up." Gloriana remarked. "Whenever I get in touch with my mother or other Hexers back in the Komodo Star Sector, all I'm hearing lately are plans to pack up their belongings and head over to the new frontier to start anew. I'm increasingly getting the feeling that the same thing that is happening in the Vulcan Empire is happening in the Hexadric Hegemony as well."

Ves narrowed his eyes. "You mean the poor soldiers and commoners are fighting and dying on the frontlines just so that the wealthy elites at the rear can run away with as much wealth, starships, mechs and manpower that they can carry along, right?"

"Yes…"

Gloriana obviously felt conflicted about this. On the one hand, she grew up as a loyal Hexer and always believed in the strength and righteousness of the Hegemony. On the other hand, her family was part of the ruling class that possessed wealth and connections to make it out and start anew in another corner of space.

Ordinarily, this would have been a difficult choice as most regions of human space were already occupied. Yet the recent opening of the Red ocean gave all of the exiles a much more attractive option.

If the Hexers weren't welcome in the Komodo Star Sector anymore, then they might as well leave while they possessed enough means and see if they could reconstruct their state in a less structured and crowded galaxy!

In this circumstance, the only people who lost out were the trillions of average Hexer citizens who couldn't obtain any passage on the ships that were leaving. They had no choice but to suffer under the occupation of the Fridaymen, who would certainly force original inhabitants to put aside their female supremacist tendencies and start treating men as equals! How cruel!

"You don't need to feel guilty about this." Ves patted his wife's arm. "Family matters more than a mob of random strangers. So what if your fellow Wodins are leaving a lot of ordinary Hexers behind to the tender mercies of the Fridaymen? You can't save them from their lot. Only winners have the luxury to care about ideals."

"I know, Ves. It's just… frustrating. I think one of the reasons why the Hexers haven't requested us to design the final three Hexer mechs is because they want to use our obligation for a better purpose."

"Like what?"

"Like designing mechs for their future frontier army in the Red Ocean…" Gloriana guessed.